


Someone Kind

by Wicked42



Series: Gwenvid Week 2018 [1]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: 10 years earlier, 2018, F/M, Gwenvid Week, In which Gwen's dad is an asshole, Plus present day where Max has a black eye, Relationship Advice, SO, Whump, and Gwen's mom doesn't want Gwen to make the same mistakes, because of course it is, i guess, too - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 09:05:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15815781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wicked42/pseuds/Wicked42
Summary: ENTRY 1 OF GWENVID WEEK! :D Prompt: "10 years earlier"At twelve years old, Gwen's father walked out the door. Ten years later, Gwen's mother's advice rings in her mind as she stares at a certain co-counselor.





	Someone Kind

Gwen remembered the moment her mother defined a proper relationship.

She was twelve, cowering as Sophie threw a vase at her husband’s head. Flinching when it shattered, when Jack howled in pain and turned rage-filled eyes on the two of them. That pulse of possibility as he decided how he’d respond to his wife.

To his daughter.

“You slept with _her_?” Sophie spat. “With that _skank_? What about me? What about _Gwen?_ ”

Jack glared. After a beat, he said, darkly, “You and Gwen never made me happy.” And with a scoff, he strolled out the door.

And he never came back.

That night, tears dripping down her face, Sophie and Gwen sat on the ratty living room rug, the coffee table pushed against the wall as they dug into matching pints of Ben and Jerry’s. A child’s cartoon was playing on mute on the nearby TV, but neither of them looked at it. Gwen picked at her Chunky Monkey, tapping her spoon into the softened dessert.

Sophie blew her nose, face dark with anger and sadness. “Listen here, honey,” she mumbled through a mouthful of Cookies n’ Cream. “Your daddy’s a terrible indication of a man. You find someone kind. Someone who cares about you no matter _what_ happens. Because no one can force love, but a good man will fight to keep it alive. You got that, Gwen?”

And across the rug, chocolate dripping down her fingers, Gwen nodded. It took energy to speak past the choking lump in her throat.

“Okay, Mom.”

* * *

 

Ten years later, Gwen stared at David, crouched beside Max just outside the mess hall. The little shit had said something wrong to Nurf, and was sporting a black eye because of it. His lips were tilted into a pained pout, jaw clenched as he stubbornly tried to pretend the injury didn’t hurt.

And the whole time, David smiled gently and tilted Max’s face this way and that, inspecting the damage, murmuring affirmations.

It wasn’t anything unique. Just a normal day at Camp Campbell: the kids doing something stupid, and the counselors cleaning up the mess. But for some reason, in that moment, David was framed like a picture in her mind.

And her mother’s words slammed into her.

 _Find someone kind_.

Gwen released a soft gasp, grip tightening on the bag of frozen peas in her hand. And while her whole worldview shifted, David glanced at her and beamed and said, “Oh, gosh, thanks, Gwen! Here we go, Max. This’ll make you feel better.”

He took the peas while she numbly smiled, numbly stared. 

“What would make me feel better is Nurf eating shit,” Max muttered, rubbing the tears from his cheeks.

But David just laughed lightly and pressed the peas against the kid’s swelling eye. “Now, Max, you don’t mean that. A simple apology should fix this—” David babbled about making friends and amends, and Gwen thought of Chunky Monkey ice cream as a warm feeling spread through her belly.

She’d never considered it before, but… maybe David was her Someone Kind.   

**Author's Note:**

> Entry 1 of Gwenvid Week 2018!! :D :D So fucking excited to be participating in this!
> 
> Mostly expect drabbles from me this week, unless a prompt really strikes me. But YAY here we gooooooo!!!


End file.
